


A Problem Shared Is A Problem... Divided By Three?

by whoovestrings



Series: Insomnia [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Character with ADD, Michael uses they pronouns, Multi, Nonbinary Character, There's mentions of violence in the last chapter but it doesn't happen, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-05-25 14:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6198844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoovestrings/pseuds/whoovestrings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone knows the vagabond never sleeps.</p><p>But not everyone knows of the two Lads who take after him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I want to say, this was all fuelled by my own sleepiness, and Oh Wonder music.   
> Chapters will vary in length and some will be very short, sorry about that.

11:00. A perfectly reasonable time to sleep. The crew had all left for their own rooms, and all Michael could hear was the last threads of Gavin and Geoff's conversation. Yes it would be possible to throw explosives out of a plane by hand, no it would not be practical, and no he was not doing it next heist.

It took about ten minutes, but eventually, the apartment stilled, and Michael could tell that the rest of the crew had gone to sleep. Not them though. Michael stared up at the ceiling, wishing with every fibre of their being to be able to fall asleep. Yes they were tired, of course they were, but something about them just wouldn't let their mind rest long enough to sleep. They must have laid there for an hour, turning over, adjusting the lights, doing breathing tricks, everything that people said put you to sleep, but still, nothing.

They glanced at the clock again. Midnight, or thereabouts. Listening carefully, Michael could hear the faint sound of somebody waking up. By ear, they followed the persons journey from their room, to... the kitchen? Okay, it was probably just Ray, getting a snack, but there was no sound of the fridge opening, no rustle of packaging, nothing that would indicate that anyone was getting food.

Sitting up, they listened for any sign of what the person could be doing. For all they knew, it could just be Gavin, sleepwalking. He did that sometimes, didn't he? Michael crept through to the kitchen, making as little sound as possible, but still knowing they were noticed.

Ryan stood in the kitchen. He had a sympathetic smile when he saw Michael, and they had to admit, that was a rare sight, albeit, not unwelcome.

"Are you awake too?" Ryan said, and Michael nodded, "you want some tea? That might work."

"Is that what you're here for?" Michael asked.

"Nah, tea doesn't work for me much." Ryan explained, "I was going for a walk, actually."

"Does a walk put you to sleep?" Michael seemed sceptical.

"It clears your head. The city is also quite pretty at night time, at least, when we're not causing chaos."

"Well let's go then." Michael said. "Should I take a gun? We're still most wanted."

"We're not doing anything, so we won't need more than one gun." Ryan said, patting his jacket "I've got us covered."

They crept out of the apartment, and stepped out into the still night air. Ryan seemed to know where he was going, so Michael had faith and followed him. The city did have an air of beauty to it at night. The moon was bright, and the streetlights dim in comparison. The normally busy traffic was slowed down to only the occasional car. Michael knew that the bars were set to close soon, so this peace wouldn't last long. Ryan seemed to know this, however, and headed far away from the city centre.

Michael had no clue as to where Ryan was taking them, until they heard the gentle lapping of waves on sand. Even when backdropped by flashing lights and blaring sirens, Achievement City's coastline was always beautiful at night. The two of them walked along the sands until Ryan had decided that it had been sufficient, and sat down on a bench on the promenade. He tapped the seat next to him, inviting Michael to sit with him.

They sat in silence, appreciating the stillness, the calm in their otherwise violent, catastrophic lives. Michael tried to rest their head on Ryan's shoulder, their body wanted rest, their mind disagreed. Ryan smiled down at them, and decided that Michael had had enough quiet.

"I could never do this when I was younger," He said, and Michael tilted their head up to listen, "I was always too scared. The city streets at night are not a good place for a girl."

"Is that why you became the vagabond?" Michael mumbled. "Not, like, being a guy, but being the most feared criminal in the state."

"I'm sure that played a part in it" Ryan laughed, and Michael smiled, that was a sound they were unfamiliar with. The crew had heard Ryan laugh often enough, but it wasn't like this. The laugh they were used to was loud, a violent cackle as an entire street was upturned, and fire raged the sky. No, this was different. This was a low chuckle, soft and melodic, and if you heard it, you wouldn't expect it to come from someone who had a gun stashed in their jacket, and knew exactly how to use it to its full potential. Michael liked this laugh. They could get used to it.

"What do you say about heading home?" Ryan said "Has this helped? You certainly look tired."

"Muscles want rest, mind doesn't." Michael said simply, and Ryan stood up, knocking Michael.

"The brain is a muscle too, you know." He said, and Michael rolled their eyes and stretched.

"You know what I mean," Michael said. "Yeah, we should be heading home. Do you know the long way though? I kinda like this"


	2. Chapter 2

The next time Ryan took Michael on a walk, it was after a mission. Steak out had taken far too long, and they both had cramps in their legs from sitting in one spot for hours on end. Michael had their DS, and Ryan was watching them play, and giving them advice.

"So who would you say is your favourite, out of everyone in your town?" Ryan asked

"I think I like maple." Michael answered, after some consideration, "She's a pal."

"Really?" Ryan remarked, "Is it because she goes with your bear motif?"

"Yeah, kinda" Michael said. "Hey, do you have this game?" Ryan shook his head "oh okay, I just thought we could play together sometime."

Ryan chuckled, "I think it would be easy enough for me to get the game. Hell, I could steal it if I wanted to."

"Ryan!" Michael gasped in mock shock "that's illegal!"

"You say that like we aren't about sitting up here to shoot someone."

Michael shrugged, Ryan had a point. They stretched out and reclined the seat in the car, lying down about as well as they could. They sat up for a second to open the sunroof, as the roof of the parking lot gave them as good a view of the stars as anyone was going to get in Achievement City. They set their DS down, and just let the smooth night music play through their headphones.

They must have laid like that for about ten minutes, before Ryan tugged on their sleeve.

"There he is" The gent whispered, and Michael sat up. The target was indeed there. He was standing in a back street, talking to someone else, possibly making a shady deal about something. If there was any opportunity to take him out, now was the time.

Ryan stepped out of the car, and quickly set up the sniper. They would have normally gotten Ray to do this, but they had multiple targets tonight, and Ray was put to a more high skill job.

Michael followed him out, resting on the wall of the parking lot. They watched Ryan take careful aim, and after a few agonising seconds, there was a shot, and the target slumped down in the street, the person he was with freezing, then running away.

"How long before we have police on our trail?" Michael asked.

"I'd say we have quite a while." Ryan responded, matter of factly.

"Well then," Michael said, taking their earpiece out "how about we walk home? It'd do a load for tiring us out."

Ryan smiled and took Michaels hand, guiding them out of the parking lot, it was rather strange, knowing that a murder had just taken place, and no-one knew. Except for the guy taking to the victim, and he was unlikely to be calling the police any time soon.

"Why do you stay up so late, Michael?" Ryan asked, "I can function normally with the amount of sleep I get, but you're a wreck every morning."

"I honestly don't know." Michael shrugged, "there's too many thoughts going round my head, and it's never quiet enough to sleep." 

"So if you had less thoughts," Ryan pondered, "say, you were focused on one thing, that would help?"

Michael thought about it for a second. Yeah, that would probably work, that was why they got to sleep rather easily after an intense heist, and they were thinking just about the walk with Ryan, and just Ryan, and they managed to sleep easily.

"I think you're right." Michael said. They decided that every time this happened, they would focus on one thing, one thing about Ryan that would cancel all other thoughts. They caught the gent's attention and gazed curiously into the heterochromatic eyes.

"How did you get that?" Michael questioned, and Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"I've always had these, I was born like this."

"Oh" Michael said, disappointed, "I thought there was some cool story as to how you had another persons eye or something."

"Nah" Ryan said, "This is just me." Then he noticed the road that lead to the beach "Should we go down there again, or just head home?"

"The crew'll be expecting us back soon, so I think we should head home."

They had obviously gotten accustomed to holding each other's hands, as they forgot to let go until they got in to the penthouse and Ray pointed it out.


	3. Chapter 3

Michael didn't even bother going to their bedroom that night. They knew sleep would be impossible. They just hoped Ryan was up for a walk. They sat in the living room, idle watching the tv, and when ten minutes had passed without Ryan showing up, they decided to take matters in their own hands.

Ryan's room was the second one down the left hall. They had been warned to never enter, and they were honestly far too scared of him to disagree. Instead, Michael stood outside the door, and politely knocked. A few seconds passed with nothing, then Ryan opened the door.

"Yes?" He said. "Oh, Michael, hello. I assume you want to go for a walk, right?" Michael nodded, and Ryan held up a hand, indicating for Michael to wait, and came back with his jacket, a book, and what appeared to be a glasses case.

"I was reading," Ryan explained, "I thought I could keep doing so if we stopped along our walk."

They went along the same path they walked the first time. Empty streets, footsteps echoing off of buildings, through a window, a news story reported the death of a major entrepreneur, and Michael laughed. The list of suspects didn't include them for once. His involvement with the crew had been more on the down low, and the names flashing on the screen were business partners and rivals.

The beach was still and empty. The sun had set not too long ago, so it was still as warm as the day, they sat down on the same bench, Ryan pulling out his book, and Michael leaning on his shoulder again.

"Read to me, Rye-bread," Michael said.

"But I'm half way through the book," Ryan pointed out, "You don't have context."

"Well, try and explain what's happened," Michael said, "And I'll ask you if I get confused."

"Well, okay." Ryan started, "The main character is basically a child genius, he's a millionaire living in a mansion in Ireland with his mother, who, let's say, isn't in the best state to take care of him. His father is missing in Russia, he's been kidnapped by the mafia, see."

"Wait, why was he kidnapped in Russia when he lives in Ireland?"

"He was trying to expand his business, and took a shipment of cola over to Russia. He obviously had a few enemies there, so he was kidnapped. The kid is trying to regain the fortune his father lost, so his best idea would be to capture a fairy, and steal their gold."

"So you're telling me that the book is about an Irishman trying to steal a leprechaun's gold?"

Ryan chuckled, "Yes, I guess it is."

They stayed that way for over an hour, Ryan carefully explaining anything Michael didn't understand, and by midnight, Michael was asleep.

The moment Ryan noticed, he knew he was in a predicament. He couldn't wake Michael, he didn't know if they would get to sleep again if he did so. After a few moments, Ryan picked Michael up, carrying them, bridal style, away from the beach. By the time they got home, Michael had nuzzled their face into the crook of Ryan's neck, and Ryan couldn't help but smile.

Ryan knew that Michael didn't like people in their room, but he had to make an exception this one time, laying the snoozing lad in their bed. He noticed a stuffed bear next to their pillow, and placed it gently into their arms. Ryan placed a soft kiss on Michael's forehead, before heading back to his own room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The book Ryan is reading is Artimis Fowl, if anyone wanted to know.


	4. Chapter 4

Ryan was in no fit state to be going anywhere. He knew this. Michael knew this. Caleb had informed him that a bullet wound to the leg was bad enough without putting excess pressure on it, and the Vagabond was prescribed with a weeks bed rest, and no heists for a month.

By the fourth night, Michael had had enough. They had gotten used to walking with Ryan, so this sudden stop left them hurt, to say the least. They carried out their normal routine of standing outside Ryan's bedroom, and knocking on the door until he noticed.

"Who is it?" Asked Ryan from behind the door. He trusted Caleb, and so Michael knew he would be serious about not walking at all.

"It's Michael," the lad said, and waited for a few seconds. The only people allowed in Ryan's room were him, and Jack, so there was little chance they were going to be let in this easily.

"Come in." Ryan sighed, and Michael raised their eyebrows in surprise. They gingerly opened the door, fully expecting something to be thrown at them. Instead, nothing. Ryan's room was about as bland as Michaels own, aside from a few more house plants, and a lot more knives. It was nothing like the image Michael had constructed in their head. There was a full bookcase, with a variety of titles, there was a vase with a few roses that Michael knew were from Ray, given to him as a "get well soon" gift. And, was that a skull? Okay, maybe not that bland.

"What brings you here at 11 at night?" Ryan asked, "You know full well I am unable to walk with you."

Michael suddenly grew sheepish, this was never going to work, Ryan was never going to agree to this.

"I just..." Michael faltered "I just wondered if I could... Y'know, sleep with you tonight," they suddenly picked up the pace of their words "because, I just thought that you might be a little bit lonely as you've only seen Jack for a while, and it could help you sleep since you can't walk and-" they were cut off by a hand holding onto theirs.

"Of course you can." Ryan smiled, and Michael couldn't help but smile back. "Now, are you going to get changed, or are you going to sleep in jeans?"

Maybe it was the bed itself, maybe it the extra body heat from Ryan, either way, Michael was far more comfortable now than they had been in a while. There was a few minutes where the laid facing away from each other, but then Michael rolled over, then Ryan did too. It wasn't Michael's fault that Ryan's outstretched arms looked really inviting, and it wasn't their fault that they happened to shuffle really close to the gent.

"You're arm is going to be dead in the morning," Michael mumbled into Ryan's collar

"I think it's going to be entirely worth it," Ryan responded earnestly, "I don't think I'm going to be doing much for the next few days anyway,"

"Goodnight, Rye-bread." Michael said.

"Goodnight, Michael."


	5. Chapter 5

Jack, bless her, didn't comment on the addition to Ryan's bed when she took breakfast through for him. The Gent in question was awake at 8AM sharp, as usual. His hand was carding through Michael's hair, and he seemed utterly enthralled by the dozing Lad.

"Please don't tell the others," Ryan said, as Jack headed towards the door, "I don't think they would let us live it down." Jack smiled and nodded, and Ryan trusted her enough to know she wouldn't tell.

A soft mumble brought Ryan back to his senses. Michael was always anxious when they woke up in an unfamiliar location. It had pained him each time they had to stay in a safe house, and the crew could hear a yelp, and then several seconds of panicked breathing, before Michael recognised their surroundings, and calmed down.

An eye cracked open, and Ryan could see the brief look of panic, and tried to soothe them. It worked. There was no yell, and Michaels breathing softened immediately. A smile, Ryan had done well. Michael yawned and pushed themself up to meet Ryan's eye level, smiling to match his.

Ryan could take in all the little details. The way Michael's hair was even wilder than normal. The freckles that covered their face, constellations against pale skin. He felt Michael's hand rest over his own, and intertwined their fingers.

It came almost naturally, then, when Ryan leaned in and captured the Lad's lips with his own. They stayed like this, in content silence, for a few seconds, before Michael pulled away, looking at Ryan as well as they could.

"So, is this, are we... a thing?"

"As long as you want us to be," Ryan replied, and Michael smiled, and leaned in closer.

"Good," they said, "I could stay like this forever.

\-----

Obviously, Jack had let something slip, because, eventually, there was a knock on the door, and a curious British voice on the landing.

"Ok, Ryan," Gavin called, "you've got Michael in there, haven't you? 'Cause if not then they win hide and seek forever,"

"Yeah Gav, I'm here." Michael said. "Can he come in?" They whispered to Ryan, who shrugged, then nodded. Michael got up to get the door, and the second it opened, Gavin was in full question mode.

"Wait, Michael, why are you still in your pyjamas?" He started, "have you been here all day?" He glanced at Ryan, then at Michael again, and gasped "you've been here all night, too, haven't you!"

Ryan nodded, and Gavin covered his mouth with his hands. "Of all the people here..." Gavin trailed off, "Do you want this to be kept secret?" He asked.

"Preferably, yes." Ryan said. "Although it's you, so no doubt everyone in Achievement City will know within the hour."

"Wow Ryan," Michael laughed, "Vinegar this early in the morning?"

"It's midday, Michael" Ryan noted, and Michael had to give him that one.


	6. Chapter 6

It wasn't long before it became obvious that another member of their crew wasn't really getting enough sleep either.

Ray couldn't help it. He liked playing video games. He liked _finishing_ video games. And if this lead to him staring at a screen at 3 in the morning, running around an entire map, looking for one specific collectible, then so be it.

He normally sat in his room whilst he did this. He wasn't interrupted by people trying to talk to him, and the Xbox in the lounge wasn't logged into his profile all the time, and the games he needed achievements in were in his room anyway, so what would be the point?

Something changed though. The way Ray would put it, he was very perceptive, and could see through his crewmate's cunning ruse, but the case actually was that neither Ryan nor Michael could hide the fact they were dating from anyone.

And Ray wasn't jealous. Yes, he might have had a crush on his best friend from high school for far too long, and yes, he might have had to admit, the Vagabond was far too attractive for his own right. But neither of those things made him even the slightest bit sad when he saw the two of them curled up on a couch, Ryan reading, and Michael napping, they both looked so content, and Ray just really wanted to be some part of it.

So it wasn't really a surprise then, when he started playing games in the lounge. Sure, he got asked at least half a dozen hypothetical questions from Gavin each day, and he had to relinquish control of the television for a time, whenever Jack wanted to watch a movie, of Geoff wanted to check the news for any mention of the crew, but really, he just wanted to see Ryan and Michael more.

Team Rage Kilt, as they had been dubbed ("I dress up as a Scotsman for _one_ costume party" Ryan would complain) were almost inseparable now a days, especially at night times. It wasn't uncommon to find them sneaking out, hands seemingly permanently clasped, and sometimes, there was news of fires and explosions on those nights, reports of two blurry figures on a rooftop.

This particular night, Ray had had to sit through one of Gavin's favourite movies, which he had somehow convinced Jeremy to watch. Turns out, it was much easier to get the youngest Lad to stay focused for hours at a time when he had something to do with his hands, so at the end of Happy Goldberg, Gavin's hair had been plaited, undone, and plaited again at least six times.

Of course Ryan and Michael had seen him as they left. Of course he had tried to not stare as Michael jumped up to kiss the taller Gent. Of course he did his best to ignore how fond Ryan's chuckle sounded as they did so. Of course he didn't say anything about the two of them, that would be rude, and downright disrespectful. They had gotten there before he had, and he respected them for that. He just sometimes wished it could have turned out differently, that's all.


	7. Chapter 7

"Do you like Ray?" Michael asked, as they looked down on a car park from the top of a warehouse. It was vacant, of course. No one would have any need to park there at 2 AM.

"I consider him a friend, yes." Ryan said.

"No, I mean, _like_ him. Like you like me."

"Why would you ask that, dear?" Ryan chuckled, "are you accusing me of cheating on you?"

"No, God no." Michael clarified. "It's just... He's being acting weird lately, I think he's jealous."

"Of which of us?" The Gent wondered.

"Both, I think." The Lad answered, "I knew he liked me ages ago, but I thought he had dropped it by now. I thought he had moved on, and tried for you. I was kinda disappointed by that actually. I think I returned his feelings about the same time he gave up on them."

"And let me guess. You still want to be with him, don't you?" Ryan sounded disheartened.

"Well, I mean, yeah. But that doesn't mean I have to leave you."

"And how would that work?"

"Polyamory. I date you, I date Ray, if you want, you can also date Ray too, but that's for you to decide."

Silence.

"Why not" Ryan said. "We've already passed the bar when it comes to the phrase "what could go wrong" so I'm sure adding Ray into the mix won't be that big of a step. Especially if what you said was true."

"Well, he's probably still sat on the couch," Michael said, "so why don't we talk about it with him when we get home?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter had no dialog, and this one is almost pure dialog.
> 
> It's symbolism, I promise. Accidental, but it's there.


	8. Chapter 8

As expected, Ray was curled up on the couch, a game still flashing on the tv, and a controller still in his hands. He was asleep. For how long, neither of them knew, what they did know, was that there was no way they were waking him up, Michael just nodded to Ryan, and the he took the cue and picked Ray up, taking him back to his room.

Obviously, Ray hadn't been seeing that deeply, as his eyes fluttered open after Ryan had taken a few steps. He took a few seconds to recognise Ryan, and the Gent had to admit, the small, almost sad, smile directed at him was quite endearing, and Ryan couldn't help but smile back. He felt bad when he put the Lad down in his own bed.

"You think he'll sleep?" Michael said, and Ryan nodded.

"He didn't fully open his eyes at all. I don't know if he was even properly awake."

"we'll wait, okay. We need to know if he actually wants this."

\-----

The next night, after the cartoon marathon had finished, and the clock had long passed midnight, the crew started heading off. Ray was planning on getting the last achievement in assassins creed, so he was just waiting it out for the rest of the crew to leave. Geoff, Jack, Gavin, Jeremy, then Michael. It was only him and Ryan, who had started reading. Ray rolled his eyes, he guess he could get it done with Ryan there. He wasn't as distracting as any of the others.

At least, he normally was. For some reason, when Michael had left, Ryan stood up, and moved over to the sofa that Ray was laying on. He indicated for Ray to move so he could sit, and there was only a seconds hesitation before he complied.

The reading facade was kept up for about as long as it took for Ray to open the x-box menu screen. A page was marked, and the book placed neatly on the floor, before Ryan shuffled up closer to the Lad, and placed a hand on the arm of the chair Ray was leaning on.

"... Hey" Ray said, feeling honestly nervous, "Have I done something wrong? Am I going to get murdered now?"

Ryan shook his head and gently pulled Ray into a kiss. The Lad was surprised, but eagerly reciprocated. It took a few seconds for him to remember the situation, and pulled away, shocked.

"You can't- but I- but- Michael!" Ray stuttered out, and Ryan just glanced at a point just above Ray's head.

"What makes you think I'm going to be mad at this?" Michael asked, from the head of the sofa, where they had been stood as Ryan distracted Ray. 

"Michael noticed how you were getting about us two." Ryan explained, "They knew you liked them, and they know you like me."

"Don't worry," Michael reassured, "Me and Rye have this all figured out. All we need is for you to say yes."

"Yes to what?" Ray asked, "Am I dating Ryan? Am I dating you?"

"You could pick both if you want." Michael said, and Ray pretended to think over it for a second.

"Get down here," he said, before pulling Michael into a kiss. It was at an awkward angle, and Michael could only hold it for a few seconds before having to stand back up again, but it gave Ray all the information he needed.

"Well then I chose both," he stated simply, and he couldn't really remember feeling this happy, as Ryan and Michael broke into smiles. Ryan picked him up, and carried him through to his room, stopping just before the door.

"Look, Ray, you have every right to say no to anything." He said, and Ray looked at the door, apprehensively, as if there was some sort of sudden danger behind it.

"Relax, Ray," Michael laughed, "We're just wondering where you want to sleep. We're not going to fuck you yet."

"You say that as if _we've _fucked before" Ryan said.__

__"Well, there was that one time that you kinda-" Michael started, but Ryan quickly shushed them._ _

__"Nope, not sex." Ryan defended, and Ray had to admit, the blush adorning the Gent's cheeks was not an unwelcome sight._ _

__"I think I'll be fine here, yeah" Ray said, "you two have some kind of walk before you sleep, though, right?"_ _

__Michael shrugged, "I think we can forgo it for one night."_ _


	9. Chapter 9

A new day, a new "hidden" relationship, More fuel for Gavin's amusement. Ray thought he was a pretty good sleeper, but this had honestly been the best nights sleep he'd had in a while. It certainly wasn't unwelcome to wake up to strong arms wrapped around him.

Turns out, dating two of the most dangerous criminals in the city, if not the state, had a lot of benefits.

It was far too late to be outside. Ray knew he should have been home an hour ago. Instead, he was backed up against a wall in an alley, the gang around him seemingly wanting something from the fake ah crew. He had been checked for weapons and his knife was currently in the hand of some guy with far too blue eyes.

"So, the Fake AH crew think they can invade our territory?" the guy who Ray assumed was the leader asked.

"We've tried to work up to this spot for years!" Another guy shouted "and they come in with their fame and glory and take it away."

"Calm down, Bruce." The leader said, "I just want to make an example of BrownMan here." Looking at Ray's worried face, he shrugged "we're not going to kill you, but be assured that you won't be sniping for a long time - James, pass that knife"

Ray couldn't believe what was happening. The crew should be here. They should have his back. But they weren't, and who knows what these guys were going to do with him. They were probably going to hurt his hands, and that wouldn't be good. He needed them for playing video games.

As he shut his eyes in preparation for whatever was going to happen, he heard a gunshot ring out and the crew before him fell silent. He dared to look around, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw what it was.

"Let him go, motherfuckers, or the next shot is going between someone's eyes!" Michael shouted, a grim look of determination telling everyone that they weren't kidding.

The crew scattered, with shouts of "sorry!" and "we swear, we weren't going to hurt him!"

"Hey," Ryan said, taking Ray into a comforting hug, "they didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, I'm fine." He sighed, making a valiant attempt to bury his face further into Ryan's chest.

"Do you know who those guys were, though?" Michael asked, picking Ray's knife up from where it had been so hastily thrown to the floor. "They seemed serious, I think they'll be back soon."

"Well let's not worry about soon." Ryan said. "Let's worry about now. And what's happening now is that we're all safe, and together, which is why we came out here in the first place. We were worried you would miss your first walk with us, Ray."

"Trust me," Ray said, taking Michael's hand and following them out of the alley, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to make funhaus the bad guys, I love them really. I just didn't know who else to use ;-;

**Author's Note:**

> There is a near 100% chance that this has grammar/spelling/punctuation errors, feel free to point them out if they exist.
> 
> Also, I use they pronouns, but I still tend to get mixed up sometimes, sorry.


End file.
